Sunshine

A new microscope, keeps me busy on those frigid winter nights, this is my second, the first i had to sell in a pinch several years ago but, I've since found my wallet again lol.

Of all things to put under a microscope i thought id stick my iPhone under it and look at pixels!

Welcome to SGL! i second checking out scopes at a club, there are clubs in just about every town in the US, best way to learned get pointed in the right direction, can't beat joining a club.

Having a SW 150 Mak i wondered if this monster frac would be a worth while upgrade considering they're both 15o but, the frac should produce better contrast and wide FOV's, hmmm.

Only issue is it seems to dwarf my Vixen GP mount, im not sure what this beast weighs , i'll check out the specs for the heck of it.

Ooohh, its a 20 lb heavyweight.

I'm curious about this oval, ill take a look tonight, hopefully will be in view, jupiter still boasts quite a bit of detail from where i am.

Hey I’m going to write “Voyager 2” on my 24mm panoptic! anyone want it for a mere thousand dollars?

Welcome to SGL, I can assure you this scope will tick all your boxes and provide you with years upon years of night sky amazement, This is a goto model, considering your budget you may also want to consider the same scope but without the goto feature, this will leave you with money to spare for some more eyepieces. Its a tossup between goto and affording some nice eyepieces which WILL greatly enhance your experience. Having said that, if you were to spring for the goto model then save up and get a few eyepieces one at a time then its a win win situation for you, either way, there are many on this forum who have the same scope and can certainly attest to their versatility and quality. From an aperture for dollar ratio POV, you just cant beat a Dobsonian.

These Skywatcher flex tube scopes are built well, perform, and are easy to use, I have used my friends 250P many times and if I didn't already have a dob, I wouldn't hesitate on one frankly.

 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-250px-flextube-goto.html

Welcome! Also from the great white north, enjoy the lounge!

I wonder, can any current or future ground based observatories see the tracks made by the lunar rover? ELT or GMT scopes under construction?.

Whoa! that’s a big light bucket, I was floored by M13 in my 10”, I can’t imagine it in that canon under dark skies!

11 hours ago, rwilkey said:

I am amazed that I can still separate Mizar & Alcor with the naked eye, when my kids and many others struggle.

Great to hear you have eyes like a falcon, good thing to have.

Well isn't that a beautiful looking dob, and optics to boot too! i'm sure you're itching to get her outside and get a retina full of nebulae with that beauty, congratulation!

Figured I would post a not to shabby iPhone shot, I don’t have my bracket so holding steady was a pain but, the eyecup helped a lot, I converted it to B&W within the phone editing software.

On 23/05/2019 at 15:46, Sky-searcher said:

Postman delivered my Giant alt-az mount today. Thanks Zoltan! 1st inspection looks good!

I would like to know a bit about what these mounts are like to use if i may trouble you, are they strictly push only or, can they be locked then slow motion controlled? 

Can one adjust the friction? either move with slightest force or, tighten for heavier scopes? i have never used one, but they would be great for road trips where i bring my Mak, letting me leave the heavy GP mount at home.

Super pumped about my new (used) piece of glass, immaculately cared for by original owner, now i have adopted it, it will complement my Starmaster nicely.

Enormous piece of glass on these i noticed, i was surprised by the size of the eye lens, larger than my first scope lol, i have read much about the Morpheus line, i hear they're 

great, if only the skies would clear up.

On 02/05/2019 at 11:40, Telescope40 said:

Hello.  Got this earlier this week.  Sure, Everyman and his dog has got a SW 9 x 50 finderscope.  The OCD kicked in and I now have one for each of my 3 scopes. This one was courtesy of SyedT. 

I have 3 of those, somewhere on earth there is a landfill where tractors are moving huge mounds of those around, world governments will meet in Geneva to discuss hurling them into space in giant nets towards the sun.

21 hours ago, jock1958 said:

However It’s beautifully engineered and an absolute delight to use 😃

That is a pretty focuser i must say, and looks like its built to last at that!

17 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

None of those links show the mini ball head? Is that a separate purchase?

Now why why why why why why!!!!! hasn't every other manufacturer thought about a finder on a ball head like that? BRILLIANT!!! i will now adapt finders onto small ball heads like that one.

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Not totally at night, but near enough.

Beautiful scope, are you not afraid of keeping that tripod unopened like that? 

8 minutes ago, BGazing said:

Mutually assured financial destruction of sorts.

This had me in stitches, brilliant!

You guys are gonna get me in some hell with my wife, after spending a tidy sum on my Starmaster dob and a Star Adventurer months later, you guys are tempting me by waving a Quark under my nose with reports like this lol. This hobby is insatiable....please help me!.

I knew this little scope would be an AP gem, not for any reason other than it looks awesome lol.

A great night to take the Mak out of winter hibernation and try out some new eyepieces.

Let me know if it's costing you your hair, i'd like to get into DSO AP but i do like my locks.

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Here is the Mewlon in action last night.

ooooh i would love to have a peek through a Mewlon, i have been "scoping"  (no pun intended) one out for a while, i do hear they're superb lunar/planetary scopes, i also hear they're about as fun a root canal to collimate.

i was wondering if my Vixen GP mount would handle the 180 or 190? i think  it is, it looks like you have the same mount?.